With

Chapter 21.

“W–What are you doing here?” Calla exclaimed in shock as she eyed Mercer.

Mercer grabbed Calla by the wrist and led her out of the ultrasound room.

“Let go! Where are you taking me?” Calla screeched as she tried to break free from him, to no avail.

Mercer dragged her to a quiet stairwell before releasing her.

“Mr. Garland, can you please show a little more respect to your employees?” Calla snapped as she massaged her wrist. It was hurting from his tight grip.

Mercer took out a document and raised it in front of her.

After taking a look at it, she was dumbfounded.

“That’s… Why is it with you?” Calla asked sheepishly.

It was a copy of her ultrasound report from her last trip to the hospital, and it included her pregnancy results. She recalled stuffing it into her bag back then, but it ended up disappearing somehow.

“You had a colleague named Jeanne Duran, right? She brought this document to the HR department to report you,” Mercer stated.

Calla had a realization. She now knew why it was rumored that the person who reported her had evidence of her pregnancy. Jeanne had stolen the report from her bag!

Everyone knew that Jeanne and Peggy were good friends. Calla was certain Peggy was the mastermind. It seemed like Peggy was obsessed with plotting against her.

Feeling a little flustered, Calla grabbed the report from Mercer and said, “This is mine, yes. Thanks!”

Once she finished speaking, she tried to leave, but Mercer swiftly blocked her path.

“W–What are you doing?” Calla asked nervously.

“How long do you plan on hiding this from me?” Mercer questioned as he stared at Calla.

“Why would I be hiding anything from you?” Calla replied evasively.

Frowning, Mercer got straight to the point. “Do you think I don’t know that you’re pregnant with my baby?”

Calla’s head flooded with thoughts. What was Mercer up to? Was he going to ask her to get an abortion? Or would he make her carry the baby to term and hand it over to him? That was a common thing among the wealthy, right?

+15 BONUS

No, she couldn’t allow herself to lose her child.

Calla looked up and said with a sneer, “You think too highly of yourself, Mr. Garland. It’s true that I’m pregnant, but you’re not the only man in my life. How are you sure that the baby is yours?”

That pissed Mercer off. He grabbed Calla’s wrist and growled, “Don’t you dare say anything like that again!”

“I–I’m just telling the truth,” Calla staunchly retorted with her head held high.

Mercer took a moment to compose himself. His expression relaxed as he said, “It was your first time that night, and you haven’t been with another man in the last month or so

since then.

“You went on a blind date once. I know the professor has a good impression of you and texts you from time to time, but you have never responded to him. That means the baby is probably mine, right?”

Calla stared at him in a daze. Knowing that she couldn’t hide the truth any longer, she was busy considering the consequences.

Did he come over here to deal with this situation? Considering his prominent standing in society, this was probably not his first time encountering something like this, right? Was he going to give her a blank cheque or a debit card and tell her to handle the matter

herself?

All of a sudden, she formulated a plan. If he did offer her money, she would take it. After all, she needed money. She would then resign from Atlas and go into hiding somewhere to deliver the baby. From then onward, she could cut off all ties with Mercer and never

see him again.

She could raise the child alone…

“Why aren’t you talking? Are you going to continue denying it?” Mercer questioned as he gripped Calla’s shoulder.

Calla swiftly nodded. “The baby is yours.”

Upon hearing that, Mercer’s frown smoothened out.

Calla continued, “However, you don’t have to worry. I won’t ask you to take

responsibility for the baby. I won’t try to cling onto you either.”

Infuriated by Calla’s attitude, Mercer tightened his grip and shook her as he growled, ” What are you implying? Are you saying I’m the kind of man who wouldn’t take responsibility for his child? Or do you think I don’t have the means to do so?”

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Calla eyed him for a moment before abruptly clutching her stomach and crouching down. “Ouch!”

“What’s the matter?” Mercer exclaimed, his hand still hanging in the air. Her reaction made him panic.

“My stomach hurts. Bring a wheelchair over. I want to see the OB–GYN!” Calla said, her brows furrowed.

“I’ll carry you,” Mercer said as he hastened forward to pick her up.

Calla waved him off. “You’re too clumsy. What if you end up hurting the baby?”

Mercer had no experience in such matters, so he hastily said, “Wait here. I’ll be right

back!”

Once he was gone, Calla quickly stood up and ran out of the hospital building.

A thought had occurred to her earlier. She was certain Mercer would ask her to get an abortion, but she couldn’t lose the baby. So, she decided to fake having abdominal pain and escape from him.

As soon as Calla got down the steps, she saw Alicia who had come looking for her.

“Where did you run off to? I couldn’t find you,” Alicia grumbled.

“–”

Before Calla could finish speaking, Peggy, who was dressed fashionably, came over and called out with a sneer, “Congratulations on getting pregnant out of wedlock, Calla!”

Calla curled her fists in anger, but Alicia held her arm before saying to Peggy, “Don’t push it, Peggy! For all you know, this might bite you in the ass someday.”

There were a lot of people passing by. Alicia was worried that the other women in the company might overhear Peggy’s remarks.

“Hah! I have to give it to you, Calla. Even though someone filed a report against you with evidence to back it up too, you managed to stay in Atlas anyway. Did you find yourself a sugar daddy? Whose bastard child are you carrying? I bet he’s a big shot of some kind,” Peggy commented with a snide smirk.

Calla pushed Alicia’s hand off before marching up to Peggy. Peggy instinctively stepped backward, exclaiming, “W–Watch it, you! Getting pregnant out of wedlock isn’t something to be proud of.”

Seeing that Peggy was too scared to cause a scene, Calla snorted and said, “Since you’re so curious to know who the father of my child is, I’ll tell you.”

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“Who’s the father?” Peggy asked with narrowed eyes.

“The president of the country! Are you satisfied now?” Calla replied before walking off with a scornful expression.

Now that Calla was walking away, Peggy regained her bravado. She shouted, “Hah! As if you’d be so lucky! Who knows what kind of lowlife you got involved with? I bet he’s just a security guard, a deliveryman, or some kind of manual laborer! Hahaha…”

Alicia caught up to Calla and held her arm. “Just ignore Peggy’s nonsense, Calla,” she said consolingly. “Nothing good comes out of her mouth!”

“Don’t worry. I know the kind of person she is,” Calla said with a wry smile. Pursing her lips, Alicia said, “Have you heard yet? Peggy resigned last night.” “Resigned? Why would she bear to leave Atlas?” Calla asked in puzzlement.

“I don’t know. Either way, she closed a major deal. I heard that she’ll be handling the insurance for all the women in the company. Didn’t you see how smug she looked? By the way, who’s the father of your baby? Is he really… a big shot?” Alicia couldn’t resist asking.

Since Calla remained silent, Alicia quickly added, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to tell me. I was just asking out of curiosity anyway.”

Afraid that Mercer might come after her, Calla led Alicia to a quiet corner before telling Alicia the whole situation.

Alicia was thunderstruck!

After a long silence, she grabbed Calla’s hand and said, “Let’s confront the Scrooge about it right away!”

Alicia always said Mercer was a miserly boss who tried to squeeze them dry, so she called him the Scrooge behind his back.

“He came to look for me already. I was afraid he’d make me get an abortion, so I ran off. He might come looking for me, so I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later!” Calla said before leaving the hospital.

D